Whilst hack n slash titles aren’t my favourite game of choice, they do offer a fun little excursion into the realms of mindless killing, which is always a good thing. Darksiders II follows on from Darksiders, taking a look at the four horsemen of the apocalypse, this time following Death, who believes that War was wrongfully convicted of destroying mankind and wants only to restore humanity and clear his brother’s name.
In reality however, I don’t care about this little bit of brotherly love, I just want to get my big sword out and kill things.
Primarily a two weapon hack n slash, Darksiders II does offer some variety with some puzzle solving and some platforming, and it’s all set against a rather epic backdrop, and of course the usual big boss battles from time to time.
These big boss battles are the thing that will test you. Whilst it’s nice dispatching hordes of minions, you’ll really have to be on your toes when the bosses come out, and it’s here where Darksiders II really makes the effort worthwhile, with a nice variety of bosses and a little bit of strategy required to beat them.
The big thing for me however, and this is something that I hope other game developers will pick up, is the way the RPG elements are handled. Normally when you come across a piece of discarded equipment, you have to pick it up, and then open you inventory to look at it and decide if you want to use it. With Darksiders II any piece of equipment can be instantly equipped or place in your inventory. What’s more, the equipment’s stats are displayed when you walk near, telling you instantly if it’s going to increase or decrease you rating,making choosing what you want to do with it almost instantaneous. It keeps the game moving and in my humble opinion is revolutionary.
The art direction is nice, though the graphics could do with a little more grunt in places, but all up, Darksiders II improves on it’s predecessor and delivers a fun, enjoyable romp that offers the right mix of killing rampages and challenges to keep most gamers happy.
